Interior Minister, Ólöf Nordal, has told RÚV that the attacks in Paris would not be affecting the government’s plan to accept Syrian refugees this year nor would it change the government’s policy on asylum.
The question was brought on by the wave of anti-refugee sentiment in the U.S and Europe (and Iceland) following the Paris attacks.
Despite assurances that Iceland would still be accepting refugees, Ólöf insists the deportation of a Syrian family of four to Greece still stands, insisting Greece is a safe place for them to be deported too. Currently Greece is hosting over 40.000 refugees and asylum seekers according to the UN Refugee Agency.
The Interior Minister – who presides over the police force – has also gone on record stating that there is “no doubt” that Iceland’s terrorism threat level has elevated since the Paris attacks, and made it clear that she sees this threat coming from presumed evil people hiding amongst “people seeking refuge”.
The police meanwhile, have directly contradicted Ólöf’s terrorism threat level assertions, saying flat-out that they “see no direct threat against Iceland at this time”.
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